


Reader defending Arthur at HaHas

by ArthurFlecksGirl



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Bullying, Clowns, F/M, Fluff, Love, Mental Illness, Romance, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27742144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthurFlecksGirl/pseuds/ArthurFlecksGirl
Summary: You get a new job as a clown at HaHas. You are fascinated by your new work mate Arthur Fleck. When you notice that he gets bullied and beaten down by others you just have to do something about it. And of course there is no chance of not falling in love with this mysterious, beautiful soul.
Relationships: Arthur Fleck/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	Reader defending Arthur at HaHas

The red nose, a wig, a pocket mirror, clothes, some magic trick items and lots of make up. Seemed like there was nothing missing. Why was there still this feeling of not having it all together? You let out a deep sigh as you closed your bag and headed to the door. The first day of being new at work was always the hardest. You had done it serveral times in your life. No job seemed to be the right one. None of the jobs you did in the past was fulfilling you or making you happy in the slightest way. You didnt even expected work to make you actually happy. But at least you were looking for something that would make it okay to get up in the morning. To not make it a chore to get into the bus and drive to see the same people everyday. Mostly poeple who made it hard to like them or talk to them. You just needed change and being a hired clown at a place called HaHas sounded like fun. You didnt had any experience in being a clown. To be honest, you didnt even knew if you were funny. Your friends thought you can be but mabe they just tried to be nice. Anyway, you didnt had the energy anymore to work for a regular job. There had to be something different. Maybe you foud that you`re a natural talent when it came to making people smile?  
"Fingers crossed" you whispered to yourself as you closed the door behind you and made your way through the crowded streets. It was an half an hour bus drive to yur destination. When you started to observe people on the bus, you felt lucky to not have your clown gear on already. Their faces looked judgemental, like they didnt had any sense of humor. Maybe Gotham wasnt a nice place for clowns at all.  
But now that it was too late to decide different you tried not to worry too much and focus on your new working place instead. When you arrived you realized that it wasnt the best corner in Gotham city. If Gotham even had something like a nice eara, it appearently wasnt this one .The garbage strike still going on made it even worse. You counted at least three of the famous super rats crossing your way.  
"Oh my god...why do I do this to myself?" you whispered. More self talk. More doubts. The walls were covered in Graffity and dirt. The door that lead to some stairs didnt looked inviting eighter. You opened it and walked up. A grey haired man welcomed you "You must be Y/N, rigtht?" A silent nodd. "I`m Hoyt and this is HaHas. " he checked his watch "A little late, huh? Not the best impression to leave on the first day." He lifted his eyebrows.  
"I`m sorry Mr. Hoyt. I had to take the bus and there was a 10 minutes delay and...."  
"Anyway" the man with the red shirt lead you into the locker room "This is the changing room. The open locker in the left corner is yours. I hope you got all your stuff with you?"  
"Yes I do"  
"Great. So there is the make up table---- Hey Gary for gods sake, can you please make room at the make up table for our new coworker? Well....not too much room you take away anyway" .Hoyt was laughing hard at his own joke. Thats when you noticed that the man he was talking to was very small. Why would he do that? Making fun of his height? Gary didnt reacted at all. He seemed used to this, which made it even more painful to watch.  
The little guy came up to you to shake your hand "Hi. I`m Gary. Welcome to HaHas. I hope you`re going to have a great time with here". Hoyt rolled his eyes "Let the lady get on her place. She`s already late and has to put her make up on. "   
Gary made an annoyed gesture "Dont take it so seriously. He is just being Hoyt. Its nothing personal. " You nodded, not feeling very well. On the other side of the room there was a table. Two clowns playing cards and talking to each other. They didnt even cared about you entering the room. This was a big let down for you. "I dont feel very welcomed here" you admitted while you looked at Gary. He sighed "I´m sorry to hear that. Its not the best place to find new friends I guess" he looked down on the ground. He truly seemed like a nice guy. "But hey, if you have some questions or need anything. Just let me know, okay?" "Alright, thank you Gary" you tried to fake a smile and headed to the make up table to get ready.  
But now another man was sitting on the chair in front of it. He seemed so lost inside of his thoughts, he probably didnt even noticed you or any conversatio that was going on in this room. The skinny man`s back was facing you. But you could see his face in the reflection of the big mirror in front of him.  
He was holding a brush in his left hand and everytime his arm moved to paint his face, you could see his shoulder bone shifting underneath his fragile looking skin. It almost looked like one more move and his bones will pop out. He was wearing a blue pair of pants only. The rest of his body exposed. His face hidden behind white make up, which gave him an haunting look that made his green eyes seem even more intense. There was something so hypnotizing about the way he moved. Even if t was just his wrist and fingers. The way he was holding the brush. So gently and throughtful. He seemed like an piece of art and he was the artist of his own appearence. But it wasnt just his looks. It wasnt just his well structured face, his nose that pointed slightly downwards, his dark eyebrows which were even visible through all the grease paint. It wasnt just his high cheek bones or his noble chin. Not even the fragility to his body or the dots on the back of his hands.   
It was something deeper. Something inside of him. Something hidden. So deeply hidden that you felt like you just discovered a treasure.   
That sad eyed man with the white face and the sharp shoulder bone was radiating a light within this darkened room. Even though not a hint of a smaile was crossing his face, there was this light coming from within. You couldnt tell if he was even aware of it, because he seemed sad. More than sad, he seemed so lost inside of a world that wasnt his. His enviroment , this room, the other clowns...everything was a stranger to him.   
You watched him staring at his own reflection as he took the brush to paint his tongue white as well. Maybe he was a stranger to himself.  
The way his eyes focused the mirror was haunting. He was trying to make sense of himself. You didnt knew who he was but you could tell that there was something more to him.   
Watching his tongue turn white hit you. You didnt knew why it made you feel something, but it did. Why would someone use make up to paint his own tongue? Maybe he was trying to match his inside and outside. To make it all the same color. To taste what`s on the outside. To taste what others saw in him?  
Oh how much you wanted to have a look inside of his mind. What was he thinking about? How does his voice sound like? Just the thought of this man being one of your new work mates made you blush. How couldn you ever walk pass this individual and now get weak in the knees? It was impossible not to be drawn to his presence. He was magic.  
"Arthur, god dammit. What are you doing there? Its Y/N`s turn to get her make up on. " Hoyts voice woke you from your daydreams.  
Your new chef looked annoyed "I´m sorry. Arthur is a bit of a freak sometimes. He`s always somewhere else. HEY ART did you hear me?"  
That was his name. Arthur. What a beautiful name for a beautiful man.  
He finally moved. Slow and graceful. Like he was still dreaming. He ran his fingers through his brown curls. His hair looked soft and almost reached his shoulders. All of the sudden he seemed stressed.   
You slowly walked up to him but he seemed surprisingly shy and barely dared to look at you "Hi. I`m..... I`m sorry " he mumbled as he lit himself a cigarette, grabbed his bag and left the room.  
Your eyes focused him as he walked away.  
And for the whole time of putting your make up on, he was on your mind.

Arthur wouldnt leave your mind that night eighter. Your first day as a party clown was alrigt but you coudnt concentrate on anything but him. You wondered where he was now? Where he lived? If he would ever talk to you? Andwhy he seemed so lost in himself? You wanted to know everything about this man.  
Arthur. Arthur. Arthur.  
That name was the only thing you had.   
This wasnt enough.   
You wanted more.  
All of him.  
You giggled to yourself, feeling crazy about fantasizing of a stranger you havent even talked to yet. But this image of him appeared in your dreams at night and it was the first thing you thought of in the morning.  
The next day you couldnt wait to go to work. Not because it was the best thing ever to be a clown, but because of Arthur. Maybe today there was a chance to get to know him better. Or have a nice conversation.   
Thinking about taling to him made you also think about his lips. There was something on his upper lip that seemed special but you couldnt really tell what it was. The face paint was hiding most of it yesterday. Maybe a scar? A birth mark? You had to find out and kiss is. Whatever it was it needed to be kissed and loved.  
"Oh my god Y/N you need to stop" you thought to yourself. You felt a warm sensation floathing through your body while you thought about kissing him. Thats when you knew you fell in love with a stranger.

Your second day at work didnt started as you expected it to be. The mysterious man named Arthur wasnt in the changing room when you arrived. You felt your heart hurt for a moment. You were lookign forwars to see him again. Maybe talk to him. You tried to recall his voice when he said he`s sorry before he left the room. He sounded soft and sweet with an innocence to it.   
A heavy heart was beating in your chest as you put your clown clothes on and did your make up. A big guy named Randall and a man who seemed like a male stripper , talked to each other on the lockers. The big one had a dirty laugh. He was probably making fun of the little guy.   
The make up in front of you was impressive. You brought your own but you realized that this was compleately unnecessary when you saw all the things on the table. Which make up could possibly be Arthurs?   
"Hey you`re the new girl right? I`m Randall" the big guy walked up to you, making you feel uncomfortable.   
"Yes I`m Y/N" you replied.  
He grabbed some of the make up and threw it on the table where one of the others sat. "So Y/N. Whats your job here?"  
"Um...." you nervously played with one of the brushes. Was that the one taht touched Arthurs tongue? His cheeks? "Hoyt said I`m hired for a kids birthday party today. I`m going to do some baloon animals".  
Randall shook his head "Baloon animals are already Arthur`s speciality. But nevermind. I think Hoyt will get rid of him soon anyway. "  
No,no,no,no. Please no.  
""Why?"  
"You will see" Randall made a face "He`s a weirdo. There is this laugh he does. Creepy. "  
"You mean like part of his act?"  
Randall put his clown nose on "No, I dont think its part of his act. Wait till you hear it yourself."  
You nodded. This Randall guy was making you feel more than uncomfy. And it seemed like he was talking bad about Arthur. Which made you dislike him even more. You havent seen much of Arthur yet but you could already tell that he was a wonderful soul to be around. His presence filled teh wohle room just by sitting there.  
"So where is he?" you asked  
"He`s at a childrens hospital right now. At least thats what the plan says. He`ll be back in about four hours I think. Why?"  
You shrugged "Just wondering".  
Randall lifted his eyebrow and headed out of the room.  
You checked your clock. Four hours. Perfect. So tehre was a chance to see him today.   
You put your purple wig on and smiled. 

Three and a half hours later :  
The birthday party was going well. The kids loved your baloon animals and you didnt screwed up once. You felt pretty proud of yourself. Being a clown was much more fun as you expected it to be.  
Back at HaHa`s you already felt an different atmosphere to the changing room as you passed the doorframe. Arthur. He must have been here somewhere near. You felt his presence even though you coudlnt see him. Just a few seconds later there was proof of what you felt deep inside. Arthur walked out of Hoyts office, looking down. He was in his full clown gear. Today his face wasnt just white. He had blue painted shaped around his eyes and a big fake smile decorating his lips. You could tell that his own lips didnt smiled at all. Neighter did his eyes. He was the definition of a sad clown. The puffy, green wig gave him a cute, almost childish look. But it was obvious that behind all of this a very attractive man was hiding.   
"Hii Arthur." you smiled, hoping that today he will actually look you in teh eyes. Arthurs seemed more than surprised that someone said hello to him.   
"Oh.....hey!" he replied, searching for his lighter. A pack of cigs was falling ou of his pocket. He nervously picked his eyebrow as you kneed down to get it for him.  
"Oh, thank you. Thats so....nice of you." the hint of a smile was crossing his thin lips. Like it was somethign special to him that you handed him the pack of cigs.  
"No prob. I`m Y/N by the way" you offered him your hand. Arthur blinked. Shaking hands with him felt strangely intimate. He first looked down on the floor but then his eyes met yours. Just for a second but you immediately felt your knees getting weaker. There was such intensivity to them. He seemed unpredictable but vulnerable at the same time. Sexy and sad.   
"Hi Y/N. I`m Arthur. Arthur Fleck....I hope you`ll feel fine around here. Being the only woman among all of those idiots..." he turned around to get to his locker "I hope they will treat you with respect." He looked into the mirror inside of his locker. Again with a huge imaginary questionmark on his face. He took his wig off. The moment he did touched your heart. Like he was taking a mask off. A huge par of the fake happiness disappeared. His beautiful brown curls sticking sweaty to his forehead. He looked so different with his hair exposed. You wondered how his bare face looked like. You never saw him bare faced and it was something you really needed to see.  
Arthur sat down on the make up table and lit himself a cig. He inhaled the smoke like the cig was something he held on to. His graceful fingers holding that stick with such subtile tenderness. It was hypotizing.  
"Seems like some of the others make fun of...how was his name? Gary?"  
Arthur nodded "Not the best people around here. I`m sorry you got hired for HaHas. "  
"Oh dont be!" you said a little bit too enthusiastic "Maybe not all of them are nice people but you definetely are and its very nice to....meet you, Arthur".  
You could have sworn to his his cheeks blushing, which was impossible because he was wearing all that make up. But it was all in hs body posture.   
Arthur exhaled the smoke "I dont know what to say....but yeah nice meeting you too. It feels good to be noticed" he replied before he put the rest of the cig in the ashtray and started to wipe his make up off.  
You wondered abou what he could mean by this. Who woudlnt notice him? Now that he said it you realized that none of the other guys payed any attention to him. Not from what you have wittnessed by now.  
Watching his make up coming off was magical. You just couldnt get your eyes off him. And then you realized taht he noticed. He looked at you through the mirror, smirking. "Oh, I´m sorry for staring" .  
You felt embarrassed. What would he think of you now?  
"Its okay. Its a good thing you know? Being seen."   
Every inch of his bare skin being exposed made him eve more beautiful. The tiney wrinkles beneath his eyes, the true color of his dark eyebrows. And then the scar on his upper lip. The mark you noticed underneath the make up before. It was more visible than expected and gave his face an incredibly mischiveous look.  
You wanted to tell him how beautiful he was. But you felt too scared to come off as weird.  
When his face was compleately free of make up he turned around to look you in the eyes. But he didnt said anything. There was just this auspicious silence between the two of you, looking at each other.  
Until Hoyt entered the room "Hurry up a bit. I wanna close the doors a little early today. See ya tomorrow guys".   
Arthur got up to grab his stuff "Gonna change my clothes at home then" he mumbled. You got your bag too and you left the building together.  
"Where do you live?" you asked him.  
"Um....Anderson ave" he lit himself another cig.  
You felt sorry for him. Anderson ave was a real bad neighborhood. Even for Gotham.  
"Okay Arthur. I live in the other direction.Buuuut.....see you tomorrow I guess?"  
He nodded, lifted his eyebrow for a sec. The cig tugged between the hint of an smirk.  
"Sure" he exhaled the smoke.  
You tried to ignore the urge to kiss him on the cheek and turned around to get to the subway.  
Tomorrow couldnt come soon enough.

Waking up the next day felt different. You couldnt even tell why. There was this feeling inside...of something not being quiet right.  
You arrived at HaHas with a smile on your face, trying to remember that dream you had about Arthur last night. Maybe today there was a chance for some small talk again. Somehow talking these few lines to him the day before filled your heart with joy. You almost danced down these stairs, opened the door to check in and looked curiously across the room. Arthur must have been here by now. You made sure to check the plan the other day. Maybe that was the bad feeling in the morning. The joy in your heart vanished as you opened your locker to get your stuff. Putting on these clown clothes still felt funny. Literally. Especially the big shoes. It was more than difficult to walk and almost impossible to run while wearing them.  
You painted your face, using the brush you thought was the one used by him. What if you would let that brush slide over your tongue,too? A look over your shoulder. No one should watch you doing this. Wouldnt it be close to a kiss? You chuckled, feeling ridiculous about having these thoughts but you did it eighter way. You took the brush and let it travel all over your tongue. The taste of the face paint was even worse than you expected but you didnt cared. All you could think about was that it was the same brush that touched Arthurs tongue and there was something sexy about that. You put the brush back on the table, checking your white tongue in the mirror. There wasnt as much faace paint on it as when he did his make up but you couldn still taste it.   
You coudlnt help but wonder how he would taste. His tongue in your mouth. The insides of his cheeks....his upper lip....you got totally lost in a daydream, unable to notice that the male stripper was standing beside you, asking you to please hand him the water color pallette.  
"Oh sorry....Of course. Here....! I was lost in my head for a sec".  
The middle aged man didnt even react to what you said, took the colors was gone.  
After you finished your clown make up you were just about to leave, as Arthur came through the door. But there was something missing. The light he used to radiate all through the room was dim. He looked even more haunted and sadder than before. His whole posture screamed help. The way he was dragging his own feet and carrying his brown paper bag like it was heavy. Heavy as his heart. Seeing him like this hit you hard. Arthur passed you like he wasnt even aware of your presence. He was elsewhere. Some place inside of himself. Maybe in a total different dimension even.  
You watched him go to his locker, getting his stuff ready,bending over, taking his shirt off. That was the moment you noticed. His shoulders and back were covered in bruises. They looked fresh, maybe from the other day. Arthur sat down and put his shoes on. They were way too tight. Even for his small ankles. Everything about him seemed fragile. He reminded you of the last leaf on an autumn tree. A leaf that has been holding on to his branch for so long, because it was strong and full of dedication. Knowing that soon it will fall. You could see his veins, which also reminded you a beautiful leaf. You wanted to let your hand slide over his backbone. It visivlewas all, thats how skinny he was.   
it hurt so much to think of how this could have happened. Some must have kicked him in a very volent way. You asked yourself what kinda moster could every do this to a sweet soul like him?  
The briuses made his sharp shoulder bone look even more fragile. He seemed touch starved. You didnt knew anything about how he lived his life but to you he behaved like a very lonely man, which hurt your guts.  
What happened ? Who did this to him? And how could you help him to feel better? You needed to find those fuckers who treated him like that.

"Some nice colors on your back there, Art!" Randalls voice echoed through the room. "Wasnt your fucking clown suit colorful enough?"  
Arhur didnt react. He now noticed that you stood in the doorway and gave you a quick look, obviously being embarrassed that you wittnessed how Randall was picking on him.  
"Maybe he was just having a wild night with his girlfriend...." one of the other guys sad "Oh wait....did he ever had a girlfriend? Kinda problematic if you are 35 and still living with your mother if you know what I mean".  
Radall laughed out loud "Especially if your mother is even crazier than you. Right, Art?" he playfully punched his bruised shoulders in a "best buddies"way but you could tell that it was hurting Arthur. His muscles twitched under Randalls hand. Still not a word from him.   
This was enough. You coudlnt handle to watch them bullying him anymore.  
"What the fuck is wrong with you guys?" you yelled "Picking on him because he took a beat down? Look at his body. He is hurt."  
"Uhhhhhhh" Randall howled "His new girlfriend is trying to defense him. "  
He took a step closer and whispered in your ear "Hey, if you ever get it on with him, just let us know if he is doing this crazy laugh while fucking, too".  
That was it.  
You slapped him. That big ass Randall guy. Right in his ugly face.  
Arthur looked at you. Shocked but with a smirk on his face. Satisfied about tehfact that Randall just got hit.  
Randall looked at you. There was so much anger in his eyes. "What the fuck? Who do you think you are ?" He screamed, lifting his hand to punsh you as Hoyt entered the room. Asking what was going on in here.   
"That bitch just punshed me" Randall yelled. Hoyt couldnt help but laugh. Two seconds later he acted seriously pissed and asked Randall to come in his office. The other guy left with them.  
Now it was just you and Arthur.  
"Thank you so much Y/N" his litle voice coming from the corner of the room. "I cant remember the last time someone actually stood up for me...I guess...this was the very first time in my entire life."  
"Oh Arthur. would you let me see these wounds please?"  
"Oh its not wounds...its just" he twitched when you carefully touched them with the tip of your fingers "Bruises..."...  
"Who the hell did this to you, Arthur?"  
He took a deep breath in as you opened an first aid kit.  
"Some kids....the robbed me in an alley. Its Gotham after all and I guess not everyone likes a clown."  
"Thats terrible. No one has the right to do this to you. And I like clowns...especially this one!" You pointed at him, smiling. Arthurs eyes lit up.   
There was his light again.  
He a muffled giggle escaping his lips.  
"I have an firs aid kit. May I help you by putting something on your bruises that will soothe the pain?"  
Arthur nodded thankfully and awaited the touch of your hands.  
Oh to be touched by some loving hands. He dreamed about this all his life. Someone who sees his pain.  
You caressed his back in curcles as you carefully put some cream on it. Touching him for the first time made you feel fuzzy and warm inside. Somehow his skin felt familiar. Like you had never touched anythign else in your life before. Like he was part of you and your senses.  
"Am I hurting you?" you asked.  
A curl was falling to his forehead as he shook his head "No. Its feels....good. It feels good to have someone who.....cares." Arthur seemed not only thankful but touched deeply. Was it possible tat this gourgeous man was living his life all alone? Unseen and unnoticed, walking this cruel city like a ghost. A light that no one was able to wittness?  
"I know how it feels" you whispered "Being bullied by others. The other kids picked on me at scool".  
"I hated scool as a kid" Arthur replied "I have this condition which makes me laugh . The laugh doesnt match how I feel. I try to fight it but...I feel like choking when I do. Its bad. People can`t handle it."  
You took your hand and touched his hair. It was even softer than it looked. This wasnt part of taking care of his visible bruices but the ones on the inside. "Ignorant pricks! They have to deal with it? No. You. You are the one who gets tortured by it. God, sometimes I hate people."  
"Me too" me mumbled. His green eyes gazing at you as you wiped another curl out of his face "You`re beautiful, Arthur. Inside and out. I can see this. I can see you."  
His eyes watered. He closed his eyelids and a diamond tear came through the dark curtains of his eyelashes. You kissed it away.  
That moment was the most intimate you had ever experienced.  
"How on earth did you saw me?" he asked with a voice as sweet as honey.  
"How on earth could someone not see you?"  
"Ask the world" he replied, looking out of the window. The sun was shining through, hitting his hair. Making him look angelic.  
"We can create our own world, Arthur. And you will be seen in it".  
Arthur touched the back of your hand. Gently like a feather, before he leaned in to place his lips on yours.   
Now you knew how he tasted like.  
He tasted like remains of face paint, cigarettes, love and possibilities .


End file.
